Now that spring ball has ended, we'll be updating our rankings of the Big 12 position groups over the next two weeks. We kick off the series below with the quarterbacks:
1. TCU (pre-spring ranking: 1): Trevone Boykin should be cleared later this month from a procedure on his non-throwing wrist. The Heisman hopeful was still able to go through most of spring ball, and, demonstrating his group, was audibling to calls the Horned Frogs didn’t even have in the playbook last season. With Boykin sitting out the final few practices, TCU was also able to give first-team snaps to senior Bram Kohlhausen, who for now is the No. 2 QB ahead of redshirt freshmen Foster Sawyer and Grayson Muehlstein.
2. Oklahoma State (2): Mason Rudolph built off last season’s small, yet sensational sample size, giving the Cowboys their first clear-cut starter behind center coming out of spring since Brandon Weeden. Behind Rudolph, J.W. Walsh made a full recovery from last year’s season-ending foot injury, giving Oklahoma State the luxury of having the most experience backup QB in the league.
3. Texas Tech (3): Kliff Kingsbury resisted naming either Patrick Mahomes or Davis Webb the starter this spring. If nothing else, this will halt the transfer exodus that has plagued the Red Raiders at the position the last two years. Mahomes remains the favorite to come out on top in the competition, but don’t give up on Webb yet. He forced the issue way too much last year, but the talent he flashed as a true freshman in 2013 is still there.
4. Baylor (4): Seth Russell did nothing in the spring to dissuade anyone from believing that he’s ready to take over for Bryce Petty as the starter. It will be interesting to see how the Bears utilize his athletic ability, which is the best Baylor has had at QB since RG III. True freshman Jarrett Stidham turned heads this spring and has a real chance to beat out Chris Johnson for the No. 2 job.
5. Oklahoma (5): Insiders still believeBaker Mayfield has the upper hand in the competition over Trevor Knight and Cody Thomas. But Mayfield’s two interceptions in the spring game had to be concerning, especially considering how Mayfield struggled with turnovers at Texas Tech. If Mayfield wins the job, he won’t keep it for long if he doesn’t take care of the ball better.
6. West Virginia (6): What was supposed to be a hard-fought QB battle, turned into a rout, as Skyler Howard emerged as the clear-cut starter early in spring ball. But whether his spring success will translate to next season will hinge on whether he can improve on last year’s mediocre completion rate of 51 percent. The last two months showed signs he will.
7. Texas (7): Spring ball brought little resolution to Texas’ QB uncertainty. Redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard closed the gap on Tyrone Swoopes. But Charlie Strong still has Swoopes as his starter. More than likely, this competition will continue into the season. The one who wins it will be the one who performs best in-game.
8. Iowa State (8): With 21 career starts, Sam B. Richardson quietly is the most experienced QB in the league. Health is the key. When healthy, Richardson has been effective. When he has been nicked up, he has struggled. Grant Rohach has fended off Joel Lanning for the No. 2 job so far, though Iowa State has yet to release an official post-spring depth chart.
9. Kansas State (10): The story of the K-State spring game was the emergence of true freshman Alex Delton, who earlier in the spring prompted Bill Snyder to compare him to a young Ell Roberson. The Wildcats went into spring camp expecting either junior Joe Hubener or sophomore Jesse Ertz to create separation in the competition. Instead, Delton turned the derby into a legitimate three-way competition heading into the fall.
10. Kansas (9): The Jayhawks just can’t catch a break. Unless of course that break is the sound of its projected starting quarterback’s knee snapping in the spring game. Michael Cummings will be out for awhile after undergoing knee surgery. That basically leaves the Jayhawks all in on Montell Cozart, who in 2014 was last in the league in competition percentage and was the only Big 12 starting QB to finish with more INTs (7) than TDs (5).